Culture & Entertainment

Is Beyonce fat-shaming moms?

Culture & Entertainment

Is Beyonce fat-shaming moms?

I was rather shocked at some of
Beyonce's comments in her new documentary Liberation. The film documented the singer as she created her self-titled album and she of course had to discuss why she had such a sexy look in some of her music videos. "I was very aware of the fact that I was showing my body. I was 195 pounds when I gave birth, I lost 65 pounds, I worked crazily to get my body back. I wanted to show my body," she said. "I wanted to show that you can have a child and you can work hard and you can get your body back." It's amazing that Beyonce has gotten her
pre-baby body back and she should be proud of it. But it annoys me to no end that she thinks she's an example to other moms on how they can get their pre-baby body back. Celebrities have a trainer, a personal chef and a dietician to help them get back in shape, something the average mom doesn't have. Oh, and a slew of nannies to watch their children while they workout. Most moms don't have the time or money for those kinds of luxuries. It saddens me every time celebrities flaunt their post-baby bodies on magazine covers or on Instagram, like
Kim Kardashian.
Jenna Dewan is the latest celebrity to jump on this disturbing bandwagon, posing in a belly-baring top on US Weekly with the headline "Flat abs after baby." I absolutely detest this aspect of celebrity culture where
celebrity moms make it seem so easy to lose baby weight. They always say they just
exercised and worked out to regain their body, which only serves to make regular moms feel bad when they follow that advice and don't see the same results. In fact, the whole idea of showing off your post-baby body, like
Maria Kang, the "What's Your Excuse" mom, makes other moms feel bad because you will inevtiably compare yourself and think "She had her baby the same month I did, why don't I look like her?" But I think what annoys me the most about this post-baby body culture is that it assumes a mom's priority is to regain her body. Not all mom's are concerned about how they look, they are more concerned about bonding with their baby or making sure their baby is healthy. Some moms are concerned with more serious issues like having enough money to support their child or dealing with post-partum depression. Instead of raising awareness about these serious issues, celebs instead focus on post-baby weight loss. It's shameful and only makes new moms feel bad about not bouncing back like Beyonce or Jenna Dewan. We need to stop fat-shaming moms and instead embrace the physical changes that come with motherhood.
Photo courtesy of MyCanon/Wikimedia Commons